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Transgender Tragedy Continues
Transgender student Nicole Maines listens during a hearing before the Maine Supreme Court. A lawsuit accuses a school district of breaking a state law in 2007 when it stopped letting Nicole Maines use the girls’ bathroom and required to her use a staff bathroom after a student’s grandfather complained. Maines was born a boy.
Last week the American Civil Liberties Union sued Alabama state officials in a federal district court on behalf of three transgender individuals. The plaintiffs all suffer from gender dysphoria: Darcy Corbitt and Destiny Clark are men but want to obtain Alabama driver’s licenses that describe them as female; John Doe is female but seeks to change her driver’s license to one identifying her as male.
In this latest court case, the ACLU is challenging the constitutionality of Alabama’s Driver License Policy Order No. 63, which requires that a person either submit an amended birth certificate or “a letter from the physician that performed the reassignment procedure.”
To this onlooker, Alabama is trying to ensure that changing one’s gender on a driver’s license is not done frivolously, but is the result of a life-changing commitment to the person’s changed gender identification. The ACLU says, however, that the state of Alabama is violating the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution, because only transgender people are targeted; it also accuses the state of insisting “…gender is determined solely by the appearance of external genitals at the time of birth unless modified through certain surgical procedures….”
This lawsuit reminds us that there are several tragedies that have emerged due to the way that transgenderism is being addressed in our culture; those tragedies are unfolding for the transgender person, for the individual citizen and for society at large.
Citizens of the US, to begin, are being forced to accept and acknowledge the people who identify as transgender. In the cited article, Margot Cleveland explains the expectations that transgender individuals have for the greater population:
The government also cannot force citizens to endorse the view that sex is ‘assigned’ at birth, that sex is mutable, or that sex can be changed. The government cannot force citizens to convey an ideological message that a transgender person is a sex other than his or her biological sex—a message with which many vehemently disagree. And a state cannot require its citizens to say something is true that they know is false or endorse a government message about sex perception with which they strongly disagree.
Yet that is exactly what the ACLU seeks to do in its lawsuit against Alabama, arguing ‘a person’s gender identity is what determines the gender a person lives as, and how the person should be recognized for all social and legal purposes.’
Essentially the ACLU is telling the country how we must think, feel, and act. One could argue that the First Amendment protects us from that kind of demand.
An even worse tragedy is taking place regarding the transgender population. Schools and the medical community are complicit in convincing vulnerable students that gender fluidity is normal, even though there are many questions about gender confusion:
Then again, compelling juvenile minds to believe they understand complicated medical conditions that psychiatrists themselves still have not resolved is par for the course. If public schools have succeeded at anything over the last 60 years, they have painfully revealed that they can convince impressionable minds of many things that are just untrue. But so long as students graduate feeling good about their dismal knowledge, subpar reading levels, and their politically correct indoctrination in to absurdity, who cares about reality?
And finally, the worst tragedy is seen in the steps taken to “cure” this disorder. The data regarding the people who have taken steps to change their gender is alarming:
- “90 percent of these diverse patients had at least one other significant form of psychopathology” reported Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Psychiatry in a study of transgender outcomes at their clinic. In other words, 90 percent of the patients were suffering from a mental illness that gender surgery did not alleviate.
- 61 percent of the patients treated for cross-gender identification (359 people) had other psychiatric disorders and illnesses, notably personality, mood, dissociative, and psychotic disorders according to a 2003 Dutch survey of board-certified Dutch psychiatrists.
- A 2013 University of Louisville survey of 351 transgender individuals found that the rates of depression and anxiety symptoms within the study “far surpass the rates of those for the general population.” About half had depressive symptoms and more than 40 percent had symptoms of anxiety.
What are we doing? Are we perpetuating a myth in the name of progressive propaganda and social justice? Is there no way to stop the assaults on our children, our citizens, on these suffering people who see themselves as incomplete, and on society as a whole?
Published in Culture
This is a no-brainer. Once the two male-to-female transsexuals have gender reassignment surgery, then change their licenses. The same goes for the female-to-male transsexual. Once John Doe really becomes a “John”, do the same.
By the way, is it a COC violation to state the humorous names for these two operations?
Yes, we are.
Perpetuating myths is what progressive propaganda and social justice are all about.
I’d prefer you didn’t, Stad. BTW, if you read the case, Alabama is stating that people must have the gender change surgery; that’s what this is about.
I’m sure getting tired of watching them destroy the fabric of our country . . . as well as the lives of many of our citizens . . .
Excellent piece, Susan! And it is one of the reasons I am proud to be on the Right. Not that we don’t include some people who say and do things for political reasons. But I really believe that most of us just want to help people. That, I’m sorry to conclude, does not seem to be the guiding thought for the Left. Under the guise of trying to help people, they seem determined to change society to reflect whatever way they think may benefit. These Transgenger people genuinely need help. They have problems, as you very helpfully point out.
I know there are people who have an emotional or psychological abnormality that leaves them with a distorted sense of their own sexual identity. I get that. There are also people who are unsatisfied unless they are getting an enormous number of facial tattoos and piercings. Most of us look at the latter and think they’re making a freakishly bad choice — and an aesthetically challenging one. The “trans” people are, I think, making a similarly bad choice, but because theirs doesn’t confront us with the aesthetic discomfort of the piercing extremists, it’s easier to express sympathy and support.
I believe adults with all kinds of body dysmorphia issues should be broadly free to act upon them, however unwise I consider their decisions. But I have zero interest in contorting the rest of us into some contrived stance of approval. And that goes doubly so for pronoun usage.
You are so right, George. Unfortunately they rarely take responsibility for the results of their actions. They just keep plugging away, wreaking havoc in our institutions.
My thoughts exactly, Hank. This is a free country–and I am also free to reject their expectations of me.
The fact that this is effecting children is what gets me extremely angry. These people are playing with the lives of the most vulnerable among us and don’t seem to care about the ramifications of their futures. Why the medical community has gotten involved in this mess baffles me?
However, I think this issue might be the straw that breaks the camels back. The vast majority of people don’t like this transgender stuff and was, probably another reason people elected Trump.
This is SOP for culture warriors. For example, with gay marriage it was never about the right to enter into contracts or make living arrangements. Those rights already exist. It was instead a legal mandate that everyone pretend that homosexual unions are identical in all respects to natural marriage.
This is the same line of attack. The scientifically and culturally established notion that sex has a biological origin is to be made impermissible as a matter of law. The pretext of protecting the “rights” of a small group of very troubled persons is instead a broad mandate to outlaw normalcy and undo every institution and tradition connected to it.
Even if you believe gender is a fluid thing, sex is not. I can never understand why they conflate the two terms—except that some are obviously trying to get others to mistake one for the other. The most egregious example of this is doctors who don’t note a transgender individual’s actual sex in their medical records. For reals? People who are genetically men have different risk factors than women and vice versa, even outside of lifestyle differences. You are doing them a disservice by not acknowledging that fact.
I also believe this for adults, but it seems that with transgenderism there is a specific danger to children. Activists want to make it a standard of care that children with this dysphoria are giving hormone therapy from before puberty. Not only could this be potentially dangerous, it will make it nearly impossible for them to transition back to their original gender in the future should they change their minds. It just seems crazy to me.
This is what I object to. It obviously isn’t the same thing.
So true, OB. In fact, they’re not just trying to outlaw normalcy, they are trying to create a new normalcy. It is sick.
It is a travesty. To these children, to their families, to their futures.
As a manly-man I’m sick of these women culturally appropriating the contents of my underwear.
I wonder if we could get the ACLU to sue someone–anyone–for child abuse. Or more seriously, a high profile lawyer on the right. I can’t stand that they’re intentionally damaging kids.
It’s called a slippery slope. We can’t expect to legalize and normalize perversion and not get more of it.
OP:
In other words, the ACLU accuses the state of insisting on reality.
Double like.
Really? Are you in support of doctor assisted suicide, then? Why or why not?
How do you feel about a surgeon severing the spine of an otherwise healthy person who believes she’s paraplegic?
This type of “freedom” isn’t really freedom at all. It requires medical professionals and the broader society to “operate” in ways contrary to truth and integrity. It is not a doctor’s calling to kill people and lop off healthy body parts. Even transgenders who start their own castration end up in the emergency room under the “care” of professionals who have to finish the job. It doesn’t help that they’re incentivized by our noxious insurance system which covers the ER visit, but not the mental healthcare they so desperately need.
Keep in mind that the acceptability of such practices has led to the suppression of studies (unpublished horrifically high suicide rates; a significant population who re-transition) and professional practitioners who wish to help people overcome their dysmorphia.
There is nothing good about the direction this is going.
True. The demands start out, “we just want to have the right to exist” but then quickly go to “you must affirm, endorse, and celebrate our wants.”
Probably.
I must admit I didn’t see these in the same category, but you make very important points, @westernchauvinist. Let me think on this a bit.
As I put it: “Sex is what you are. “Gender” is what you think you are.
Let’s not again allow the Left to bully us into using their terms. Forget “transgender”. They are crossdressers — pretending to be something they are not.
@westernchauvinist, my husband and I discussed your points over dinner. I was shaken by them, in a good way. I want to be sure you and everyone understand that I don’t agree with people mutilating their bodies to be “gender-correct”; what I didn’t realize is that they are no different than the person who wants to cut off her legs because she has a self-image of being a paraplegic. I’ve seen a woman like this interviewed. It was ghastly. So if we agree that doctor-assisted mutilation of the body is immoral or unethical for any reason (unless a person needs amputation due to disease or injury), where do we go from there? It seems like the medical community has to take a stand against these kinds of surgeries! But there are lots of Lefties there, too! Certainly psychiatric aid and drugs should be seriously explored to help the patients. But no matter how much people protest that they need to be mutilated (and that’s what it is), it should be barred. We are not put on this earth to feel “complete” or “good about ourselves.” We are here to be good human beings. This focus on our bodies or gender or sexuality is over the top. Any doctors or medical folk want to comment? Or anyone else?
I think it is worse than that. Ask yourself, why are progressives enamored of gender fluidity as opposed to age fluidity, or height fluidity, which are merely more obvious absurdities? I don’t think this has anything to do with the civil rights of anyone. I think this is the latest front in the progressives’ ceaseless campaign to increase the power of the state.
Here’s why: When a society gets to the point where its public administrators can hold you civilly/criminally liable for stubbornly referring to a male specimen of our species as a male specimen of our species, there is nothing it can’t do to you.
Good for you, Susan!
Unfortunately, we’re going the other way and barring non-surgical (psychological) treatments and making it illegal to ignore your 6-year-old’s gender confusion (Canada) until he grows out of it.
I have been asked to post this comment anonymously:
Sadly, this is an issue that is effecting my extended family. A young boy (who has always been feminine) at the age of 7 has convinced his mother that he should have been a girl. He began using the girl’s bathroom at his school; a parent saw and complained.
So the mother has re-registered him as a girl and changed his name. As of the beginning of the year, he is exclusively dressing in girls’ clothes, using the girls bathroom at school, etc. And he is sure enjoying all the positive attention he’s getting from his classmates. Celebrate!
He hasn’t seen his father since before Christmas because he ”knows’ his father doesn’t accept” him. The only way the father has shown his lack of enthusiasm is by not letting him wear sun dresses and heeled pumps to the park. It’s been obvious since the start the mother is fueling and encouraging the behavior.
The father has been advised to not seek legal recourse lest he be labeled ”transphobic” which could put him in jeopardy regarding his other children.
At this point he is trying to get an agreement with the mother that no medical steps can be taken without his approval.
By the way, we have several gay male friends who know the situation well. Several of them told us that at a young age they thought they wanted to be a girl and are now horrified at the thought.
It’s obvious (to me) that there’s an underlying psychological issue that is not being addressed while the cross dressing is being supported and encouraged and celebrated.
And that scares the hell out of me.
Don’t forget ‘pay for’.